Galilee (,
transliteration HaGalil; ,
translit. al-Jalil) is a region in northern
Israel. It overlaps with much of the administrative
Northern District of the country, with the exception of the
Golan Heights and the Valleys (
Jezreel,
Harod, Beth Shean and
Jordan Valleys with
Mount Gilboa). Traditionally divided into
Upper Galilee (
Galil Elyon),
Lower Galilee (
Galil Tahton), and Western Galilee (
Galil Ma'aravi), extending from
Dan to the north, at the base of
Mount Hermon, along
Mount Lebanon to the ridges of
Mount Carmel and
Mount Gilboa north of
Jenin and
Tulkarm to the south, and from the
Jordan Rift Valley to the east across the plains of the
Jezreel Valley and
Acre to the shores of the
Mediterranean Sea and the
coastal plain in the west. Historically, the part of
Southern Lebanon south of the east-west section of the
Litani River also belonged to the region of Galilee, but the present article mainly deals with the Israeli part of the region.
